HAND PAINTED DOOR MURAL PART 1

(pic. of sketched door on actual door that leads out to the garage)

Happy New Year everyone!  Here we are the 3rd week into the new year and I hope it is going well for everyone, it sure has for me.  I enjoyed my visit with my daughter, but now she is back on campus at SCAD so I'm staying busy with  some projects.  One of them is working on a  mural in my kitchen that will compliment another mural that exist in the same space.   The door I'm painting will continue with the theme to the first mural I have in the kitchen of a Tuscan scene which I painted unto the bi-fold doors that close and hide the washer and dryer. The other door leads to the garage and since it breaks the wall space in an uneven fashion I wanted to create the illusion of looking out to a vineyard. Trying to make the best of a bad builder decision.

I sketched out an outline on the actual door itself of a wooden door.  The top of the door opens to the view of a vineyard that continues the theme of the bi-fold doors.  I used chalk to first create the layout and perspective. It's easy to do this with chalk when you are using acrylic paints you can paint over the chalk lines and the lines will disappear.  It is also helpful when you want to make changes, you can easily wipe the chalk lines away and start over again.  I than  proceeded to create a wash of burnt sienna to block in the layout of the mural before I move forward with all the under-painting.

I have already started the under painting, blocking in the colors of the sky, mountain area and will start this week blocking in the rest of the outdoor scene.  Once I'm happy with it I will continue to define these area's and fine tune them before I start to create a faux finish of wood grain of the sketched door.

I sketched a hat unto the faux door, but I'm not quite sure if I should keep it. What do you think?  As I continue painting I will let the door speak to me and see if the hat stays.  I did decide however, to paint a fresh baked pie unto the ledge of the opening of the door and make it appear as though it was cooling off before being served.

Below is the Tuscan scene painted unto the bi-fold doors which hide the washer and dryer.  I made the best out of some unsightly doors that are in the middle of my dinning and kitchen area which is all one huge open space that I do happen to like very much.   I will post part 2 this week.

(Pic:mural painted on doors which hide washer & dryer great to look at on cold winter days)

Conversation With A New Zealand Artist

There are a great deal of artist who I like and admire for their body of work, influences and who they themselves admire about other artist.  I love that in the world of the internet I can meet artist from around the world.  I met Suzanne Carter via facebook I found that we have many things in common; we are mums, we love our father in heaven and all the beauty he has created for us to enjoy and interpret in our painting and we both are self-taught.  She has been kind enough to allow me to ask her a few questions about her life in New Zealand and her art. I don't now if this is too long for a blog, but I didn't want to cut or edit anything out because I so enjoyed everything Suzanne had to say.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

Mag: Hi Suzanne, I have read your beautifully written bio and I found we have a lot in common. We are mums, self-taught artist who love God and are influenced by his creation that surrounds us.  I wanted to start by asking how did you become interested in art, what were your influences and whose works from the Old Masters do you find kinship with?

Suzanne:  Hey Maggie, I guess I have loved Art from an early age.  I was born into a creative family and both of my sisters are incredibly talented in their respective fields but I never painted at all until about 10 years ago.  The desire to create came out of my relationship with God and just grew from there; it is an overflow of Loving God.  I am inspired by so many different artists and genres I love both Da Vinci and Michelangelo but I also like some of the early Renaissance painters such as Fra Giovanni de Fiesole, (c.1400-55).

I also love Colin McCahon a New Zealand painter from this century who reflected the relationship between artist, poet and prophet and C.F. Goldie (1870-1947) Whose work with Maori is remarkable.  My faith greatly influences what I create, I'm drawn to nature, color just the pure beauty that is out there.  When I look at creation, the diversity and complexity, the colour and the artistry of all that God has made it causes me to marvel and my art is an overflow of worshiping this amazing Creator God.

Mag: I appreciate the self-taught artist we are like the underdog.  There are a few in the art trained world who don't believe our work as self-taught artist is relevant, but yet most thought provoking, heart inspiring works usually come from those who are self-taught.  What are your thoughts on this misconception?

Suzanne:  I guess there are many advantages and privileges to having being trained, but I haven't had access to this.  I appreciate the wealth of knowledge and talent of artists around me and I am always gleaning and seeking to learn and improve.  In some ways being 'self-taught' has given me great flexibility to find my own style and voice.

Mag: You are a stay at home mum of 6 and are home schooling, I admire that so much. How do you find the time to create?  

Suzanne:  My greatest joy in life after my relationship with God is being able to be home with my children, to spend time with them.  They have taught me so many valuable lessons and I count myself incredibly privileged to teach them and to share their learning journey.  This does mean that there is limited time for art and I usually find myself on the kitchen floor late at night when everyone else is in bed.  Art is very  spontaneous for me and I will grab time when the opportunity presents itself, usually I just go with the flow.

Mag: Do you have plans in the future to create art on a full time basis?  Suzanne:  I guess we live in seasons,which eventually pass, the only constant we have is change. The season that I am in right now is very busy and focused on children, as my free time increases I am looking forward to having more time to create art.

Mag: You live in New Zealand what is life like there and have you ever traveled to the US?  

Suzanne: Yes, I live 'Down Under' in New Zealand, home to 4 million people and 40 million sheep.  Seriously it is an amazing place to live.  We are an Island, well actually 2 main Islands surrounded by water.  We have no real nasties not like Australia, just a flightless bird called the kiwi fro which we get our name and a giant weta.  Kiwi's are very laid back, we have a 'number 8 wire' mentality which means we can make something out of nothing or usually find a solution to a problem and we are fanatical about rugby!  I have never traveled to the US, although I have made some great friends there, maybe one day!

Mag:  As a self-taught artist what bit of advise would you give someone attempting to pick up the paint brush and palette for the first time who wants to explore this wonderful world of art?

Suzanne:  My greatest hindrance in the beginning was comparing myself to people around me who had more talent and ability and instead of celebrating where they were at and being encouraged I would become discouraged by my lack of ability and want to quit.  I learned an important lesson from the 'parable of the talents' that I might have been given 1 talent in comparison to others, but if I am faithful with what has been given to me, if I use my 1 talent and don't bury it, than I will be given more and my gift will increase.

I was also told by an artist I admired that the LORD can take even the simplest drawing of a child offered to him with a heart of worship and use it to bring Him glory and change the lives of people.

Suzanne, I want to thank you so much for this interview.  I have enjoyed learning more about you and what inspires you to create.  I always look forward to seeing what you have created next.

Below are links where you can view and purchase Suzanne's art.

Follow:  http://www.facebook.com/SuzanneCarterArtist?sk=app_106171216118819

Shop: http://mercyrain.redbubble.com/

Blog: http://suzannecarterartist.blogspot.com/

Mural on a door

I hope everyone enjoyed their thanksgiving.  I greatly enjoyed my with my family and friends. I continue to enjoy having my daughter home for the holidays.  We both are working on our to do list of creative work that we have wanted to finish up.

I had over the spring sketched and blocked a mural on a door in our kitchen/dining area.  The door leads to the garage.  I wanted to give it some interest since it is a boring door to look at.  I will start painting the mural in the next few weeks to finish it up.  It will follow the theme of a vineyard mural I painted on the bi-fold doors that sticks out like a soar thumb in the dining area into the kitchen.  The doors hide the laundry area.  

Painting the doors gives some interest and camouflage the doors that break up the wall in a awkward way.   The murals give a sense  one being part of the outdoors especially during the cold months when our days are shorter and we lack good day light.

I will be creating a video of the process as well.   

Please visit my store on my website and have a look around, I'm offering free shipping through the 12th of December this excludes furniture as these are heavy items in most cases and do require special packaging and shipping cost.

Rainbow Village Gala

(Photo: From Rainbow Village picasa web album.)

(Photo: Back view)

(Photo: Front view of bookcase)

I had the pleasure and great delight to work with Rainbow Village on their Gala event to help raise money for this wonderful organization.   The children of Rainbow Village all work on an art project together with a theme in mind which represents the organization and what it means to each child every year.

An unfinished bookcase in shape of a dollhouse was donated and used for this years gala project.  The children and I talked about the possibilities and the theme what does home mean to me was chosen.  Each child had to draw a house, a representative picture of what home meant to them and write a small essay expressing this as well. 

Unfinished pieces of furniture and dollhouse furniture was purchased and donated towards the art project. The children were divided into groups and each painted the dollhouse, doll house furniture and the older kids decorated the inside of the dollhouse with the drawings and essays and bright colorful scrapbook paper.

(Photo: unfinished doll house book case)

The kids and little babies hand prints were stamped on the roof top with their individual names hand painted on each palm which represented the roof shingles that shelter and protect a loving home.

The back of the house was painted in a whimsical style.  On October 22, 2011 this art project raised an overwhelming $8,900 dollars.

At a time when our economy has been at a historically all time low, how inspiring it is to see people gathering together for such a wonderful organization as Rainbow Village and raise the money that was raised that evening.  We are all affected by this economy there are real families hurting who are finding themselves displaced and organizations such as Rainbow Village fill the void to help get them back on their feet.  Anyone of us could easily be in the same position as nothing is guaranteed in this life. 

I'm honored that I was asked to play a small role in getting this project started for the kids and the families of Rainbow Village.  Continued success and growth to Rainbow Village.  Please click on the link to find out more about this wonderful organization and how you can help.

Swarovski Crystal Box

Always have boxes on hand

Another cold day in GA and going on 4 days of no school! Even my daughter is aching to get back to school.

I'm putting the pictures I took over the summer of the black swallowtail butterflies that visited my yard and I painted a box with one of those images.  So I'm finishing up with adorning it with Swarovski crystals and it is giving the box such a beautiful shimmer.  I'm going to finish off the box lining it with hemp fabric on the inside for a finished look.

Eco-Friendliness of it all: All high-grade non-toxic acrylic paints and varnish.  The box I have used has been recycled, I purchased this box at a yard sale from a crafter who was selling all of her paints and supplies her trash certainly my treasure.

I'm looking forward to posting the finished product and sharing with you why painting boxes play an important part of my product line.